Not What I Was Expecting
by defying3reason
Summary: It's Valentine's Day and James is sick of being single. He's been interested in Piper for a pathetic amount of time, and is determined to finally confess his feelings. However, Piper's got another friend named James with the exact same plans...


_A/N: This fic was written as a Valentine's Day present for the lovely xkyoxdiex (also on , go check out her fanfiction!). Being a fan of bizarre pairings, she picked Trickster and James-the-architect as her couple. Even though it was a bit difficult, it was fun to write (eventually). Hope you all enjoy it too!_

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><p>James tried on four different outfits, all variants on the same idea, before he settled on his win: black slacks, a thin grey band t-shirt, and a pin-striped vest. He couldn't decide if he wanted to wear his fedora with it or if that would be too much.<p>

Tonight was the night. He was going out for drinks with Piper on Valentine's Day, supposedly to keep each other company and be bitter about being single, but James was determined not to be single by the end of the night. He was going to ask his friend out. He'd been wanting to for almost a year now, but every time he tried his shitty self-esteem always caught up with him.

And there it went again.

James looked at his reflection in the mirror and thought about the way the fabric of the shirt completely failed to hide his lack of definition. He was sickeningly thin…maybe he should wear a long sleeved shirt to hide his prominent, bony wrists (his damn wrists and long fingers made him look like a skeleton). His hair had dried kind of lumpy after the shower too…even if it was too much, it was probably better to risk it and wear the fedora…

Or, instead of giving himself a panic attack and destroying a friendship with off-putting weirdness and unrequited love, he should change into jammies, cancel with Piper, and hang in and watch bad chick flicks. That sounded good.

No. No panicking allowed. Every time for the past year when he'd wanted to ask Piper out (starting pretty much with when they'd met), James found some way to talk himself out of it (something that had been especially easy when he was dating that idiot Earl; he was supposed to ask Piper out most recently when he and Earl had broken up). He wasn't allowed to back out this time. Piper had made plans with him for Valentine's Day. That had to mean something, didn't it?

James turned around and twisted his head at an awkward angle, trying to convince himself that even if his frontal view was of an anemic twelve year old, he still had a fantastic ass. The slacks didn't really bring that out though.

But they went with the vest and arguably the fedora.

He left the house a half hour later after two more outfit changes, wearing the slacks, the vest, the fedora, but a slightly thicker blue t-shirt. His hands shook a little when he locked the door behind him.

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><p>Probably owing to his nervous nature, James got to the bar about forty minutes early. He snagged a table and ordered some fried pickles, but begged the girl to take her time bringing them out. "I'm meeting someone and I'm pathetically early."<p>

"Oh, don't worry about it hon. You don't have to do table rent until it starts filling up in here," the girl assured him. James looked around and noticed that the bar was almost empty.

"Wow. The early's more pathetic than I realized. And this was with two hours of nervous outfit prep. Well, he likes the pickles so I still want them. I guess I'll just order them later."

"I can try to time it for you," the girl offered. "What's your friend look like?"

"Oh, I don't want to bother you that much."

"Don't worry, it's fine. And you look cute! Trust me: this is the night to get out of the friend zone. Now, what's this guy look like?"

James gave the girl an approving second look. They weren't even at a gay bar; Piper just loved the food and the live bands at the place. Then again, something about James' demeanor usually outed him to people unless they were really, really dense.

"He's five nine, long red hair with gold highlights, deep blue eyes, killer body, and he exudes confidence."

"Aw, well then stop looking so nervous! You're going to be fine, but only if you match him at least a little on the confidence. Lemme go get your drink, and then I've got a couple more customers to take care of, but assuming it stays slow we can chat for a bit before it's pickle time."

"What was your name again?" James asked.

She laughed. "It's Nat."

"I'm James, and you're getting a really good tip tonight Nat."

"You are too cute. Good luck with the friends zone!"

The easy going waitress made the forty minutes pass in a breeze. She was in a similar situation to James regarding one of her coworkers, which James found odd as Nat was really personable, not awkward and aloof like him. He couldn't help but mention that.

"I don't think you're awkward. You've been really friendly since you came in," Nat pointed out.

"Have I?"

"Yeah."

"Huh. Usually I have a hard time keeping eye contact with people. And I mumble a lot."

Nat shrugged. "I haven't noticed. Maybe your friend hasn't either. But anyway, yeah, I'm fine with customers. I only freeze up when I talk to Brett."

"Well you guys work together. He must see you being fantastic and clever with customers and know you're a catch."

"Nice try James. He's a cook, he works out back."

"Oh. Well ask him out anyway. It's Valentine's Day."

She looked thoughtful for a moment. "I'll think about it…yeah, yeah I think I will. As long as you actually ask your guy out."

"Deal."

"Alrighty. Speaking of which, would that be the gorgeous red head you spoke of?" she asked, nodding her head towards the doorway.

Piper had indeed just walked in, wearing a pair of tight ripped jeans that James dazedly admired every time the object of his lust deigned to wear them, along with a baggy green sweater with a low neckline, showing plenty of collarbone. He had his hair up, highlighting his long neck. Piper really was just inviting someone to leave a trail of love bites on that pale, perfect skin with a shirt like that.

James sighed dreamily. "That's him."

"I'd better put your pickles in."

Before Nat got very far, they noticed a second man walk in after Piper, an attractive blond with clear blue eyes and perfect white teeth. James felt his heart sink when the blond rested his hand on Piper's arm, and lean in close to say something in his ear. Piper laughed at whatever it was, then noticed James, waved, and started walking over.

"Don't lose hope," Nat whispered, before dashing back to the bar.

Piper sat down across from James, Blondie keeping uncomfortably close to him. "Hey James, sorry I'm so late."

"Don't worry about it," James said with a pointed look towards the random guy invading Piper's personal space.

"Oh, I hope you don't mind that I brought a friend. James, this is, well, actually James. He's a…coworker."

Other-James reached a strong dark hand across the table and shook. "Hey."

"Hey." James smiled awkwardly, hating Other-James' perfect teeth, perfect wavy blond hair, and especially hating his perfect wrists. He was like a slightly more muscular version of Piper, lean but not skinny, nothing like the freaky walking skeleton that he was.

Why the hell had Piper brought a gorgeous companion with him to bitter Valentine's Day drinks?

Nat caught his eye from the bar and motioned towards her mouth, smiling exaggeratedly. He guessed that his sulk had been visible, and made the effort to smile. She sent him the thumbs up.

"So, um, do you work with Piper at the shelter and soup kitchens and stuff?" James asked. Other-James looked at him blankly.

"Piper, what the hell is he talking about?"

"Oh, er, I do a bit of volunteering," Piper explained sheepishly.

"A bit?" James repeated incredulously. Piper was always carting boxes and sacks of donations down to his car, or leaving for some project in ratty clothes that he was ready to ruin with paint splatters or soup stains. If Piper did a bit of volunteering then James was just a smidge gay.

Still though, clearly not a good subject for conversation (for some reason; James thought the volunteering was admirable, but Piper clearly didn't want Other-James to know about it). James cast about for something else to say, but Other-James beat him to it.

"So, what do you do?"

"Oh, I'm, um, I'm an architect."

"Oh." He shrugged. "That must be…cool. I guess."

James realized he still didn't know exactly what the other young men did for work, but he decided against asking.

The night progressed with some really forced conversation and particularly possessive behavior between the two Jameses. Piper didn't seem to notice. He, at least, was having a good time, rocking out to the band that was playing and basking in the attention of his friends (whom he seemed to mistakenly believe were getting along, not noticing that their attention was exclusively on him, not each other).

Somewhere in the second awkward hour of verbal sparring for Piper's attention (which James was failing at), Piper's cell phone rang. He looked down at the little screen and his face lit up. "Excuse me guys, I've got to take this!" He ran off, no doubt to find a quieter spot so as to actually hear his call, leaving James with his new rival. He looked down at his beer, avoiding eye contact with the intimidatingly attractive young man.

"So…y'think you could back off?" Other-James asked brightly.

James looked up, startled. "Excuse me?"

Other-James sighed. "Okay, I'm gonna be frank. I want Piper, and you obviously do too, but he's got shit self-esteem, so it's completely unfathomable to him. Which means you can back off now and save face. Because if we both shoot for this tonight, he's going home with me."

James gaped at him, wishing his stomach weren't twisting in knots. "That's a little bold, don't you think?"

"Would be if it weren't completely true," Other-James responded, casually taking a sip of his drink. "Look, you're a good looking guy and all, but your body language makes it really hard to notice, and you're a reasonably good conversationalist, but you're playing out of your league here. Piper's got reasons you can't even guess at to pick me. Just save yourself the rejection."

"You barely know me."

"I'm good at reading people. How long have you been pining for Piper anyway?"

James scowled. "A year. And you're right about one thing, he hasn't noticed."

Other-James nodded. "I think I've liked him about that long, but I've had some issues with my sexuality…I've only been actively flirting with him for a couple weeks. I was trying to ask him out back at the ba-, er, the building where we work, but I only got as far as 'figured out I was gay'. Then he told me he was meeting up with you tonight, and he thought that if I was just coming out then hanging with other gay guys might make me feel more comfortable and…" He rolled his eyes.

James winced. "Not what you were going for." Other-James nodded. "It wasn't what I was going for either. I mean, I asked him out to drinks as friends, but…"

"Didn't plan on it staying that way," Other-James finished.

"Well, you didn't want to go out as friends either," James pointed out. Other-James nodded, flashing a self-deprecating smile and scrubbing a hand through his hair. He looked cuter without the cheesy overconfidence. "Sorry hon, but I'm not backing down. I say when he comes back, we both confront him and his bubble of 'no one could ever love me' density, and just let him pick."

Other-James appeared to be sizing him up, giving him an appraising look. James made an effort to hold eye contact, keeping his posture confident. "You're not as much of a wiener as I thought. Fine, agreed. But he's gonna pick me."

He couldn't help but wonder how much Other-James believed that.

Piper ran back to the table, smiling like an idiot and startling them out of their staring contest. "Hey guys, I'm sorry, but I need to ditch out on single Valentine's Drinks. I'm not single anymore!"

"W-what?" James asked. Other-James had a much better poker-face than him; he actually looked happy for his friend (unless you saw the dead look in his freakishly perfect blue eyes).

"That was my ex. We broke up because of a really stupid fight a couple months ago, but I guess he missed me, and he's thought things over and, well, I've gotta get going. Happy Mindless Consumerism Day! Bye!" He gave them each a hug, and James whimpered at the brief physical contact (dear god but he smelled good; it must have been the organic shampoo), and then he was gone.

The Jameses visibly deflated. Nat came over and didn't say anything, but gave James a bracing pat on the back. "I'll just…grab you guys some drink refills. Jeeze." She took off again, shooting them both sympathetic looks.

Other-James sighed. "Well there goes that. Cheers." Nat set down his new drink and he drained half of it in one gulp.

James joined in with a scowl. "I remember when he broke up with that loser. Earl's too stupid for Piper…but he's really hot. They'll probably fizzle out again really quick."

"Good. So, truce until then?"

"Sounds good to me."

They shook on it, then both started laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

"You know, my initial impression of you was way off. You're not a wiener at all," Other-James said, as though it were a compliment. James couldn't stop laughing at that for some reason. Other-James smiled at him, face coloring a little, and James returned the smile.

"What?" He asked.

"Nothing. You've got a nice laugh." He shrugged. "I can appreciate that in a guy. Sorry I was being such a jerk earlier."

"It's okay, I get it. I was competition. Now that Piper's taken again, you're better than I thought too."

Other-James shook his head. "If those are the compliments you give, it's no wonder your single."

"Please, if I was going to compliment you I'd talk about your ass, or your teeth. You have seriously perfect teeth, it's almost creepy. That's from braces, right? Like, you weren't born with that smile, were you?"

His shoulders were shaking from his laughter. After taking a moment to get over his giggles, Other-James reached into his mouth and pulled a cap off of one of his molars. James' eyes widened. "It's mostly my own smile, but there are some alterations in there. My parents had two of my permanent teeth pulled when I was a kid so I could work the rubes, and I hollowed out the molar myself when I was eighteen."

"When you say yourself…"

"I paid someone to do it," he clarified. "I'm from a long line of talented and not-so-talented con artists." He shrugged. "It's a living."

"Oh. You…still do that?" James asked, suddenly wondering why he'd never thought to ask Piper what he did for a living. Maybe it was a good thing he hadn't asked the guy out after all...

"Nah. I still use some of the skills, but I broke from the family and got out of the game." Other-James leaned across the table and beckoned James closer. "Don't tell anyone, but I'm actually a supervillain. So's Piper."

James stared at him in open-mouthed shock, then after a minute or so they both started laughing. "Oh man, you really had me there for a minute. You cannot do that hon, I am _way_ too gullible!"

Other-James smirked. "Couldn't help myself. So…you got any plans for the rest of the night?"

James thought about his pajamas and the bad movies sitting on his coffee table. Then he looked at the gorgeous man sitting opposite him who had admitted to just entering the explorative stage of his sexual discovery. "Not really. You?"

"Nope. Wide open. Wanna keep hanging out?"

"Sounds good."

* * *

><p>James was surprised how much he ended up enjoying Other-James' company. The man was hilarious, even if he was a bit corny some of the time. After they left the bar, they ended up walking around downtown Keystone for awhile before heading back to James' place "for coffee" (he really hoped coffee meant sex, but he wasn't going to make the first move-the guy was new to this after all, and a strong nine if not a perfect ten to James' seven or so).<p>

They didn't end up talking about sexuality or Piper again until they were sitting on James' sofa watching Singing in the Rain. "So…you like musicals, camp, old timey movies, puns, and cheesy humor in general, and it really took you until you were how old to figure out you were gay?"

Other-James frowned, taking up an exaggeratedly defensive posture. "Twenty. And I'm not gay. I still like girls too."

"Oh." James was a little surprised to hear that his companion was actually a couple years younger than him. He was so confident and charming; it made him seem older. "I tried a bisexual phase. Didn't end up working out for me though. Actually, at one point my mother flat out told me to stop trying to date girls. She said it was uncomfortable for everyone."

"Well I'm definitely bi," he said decidedly. "My first big love was a woman. Piper's my second. Stupid ass, going and getting a boyfriend when I was going to do my big romantic reveal."

James sighed. "Yeah. Earl's got shitty timing. We should slash his tires."

"Shaving cream on the windshield," Other-James added.

James shook his head. "Lipstick. It's all oily, it smears everywhere and it's a bitch to get out."

"That's a good one. I never thought to use lipstick."

"I pissed off a drag queen once. She wrote cocktease on my doors in big, fire engine red letters right before my grandmother's funeral. I thought the minister was going to shit a brick when I drove up for the line."

Other-James clapped a hand over his mouth. "I know I shouldn't laugh at that…"

"Go ahead. I wasn't close with Grams. She's the reason I tried dating girls as long as I did. I was _so_ relieved when Mom told me to just stop and be myself."

"You still talk with your mom?" Other-James asked.

James nodded. "Of course. Not every gay kid has to flee home in a dramatic sob story. Piper did though, poor guy."

"Yeah. I'm sure that would've happened to me if I cared to explore that part of myself when I was still living with my folks. But we already hate each other for a whole host of unrelated reasons, so fuck whatever they'd think."

"That's the spirit."

Other-James grinned. "I think so. You know, I can definitely see what Piper was saying earlier."

"Hm?" James turned away from the TV, regarding his companion with curiosity. "Piper talked to you about me?" He'd figured all Piper would have said was something along the lines of 'Hey, I'm meeting a friend and you should come.'

"I think he wanted to fix us up. He said he had a really cute friend he was meeting, and that he thought we'd get along."

James couldn't help but laugh at that. "Wow. Piper may suck at dating, but he's a really good friend."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Other-James asked.

"I can't believe he was going to fix me up with a ten! I'm like a seven at absolute best."

Other-James gave him a skeptical look. "Alright, time out. I get enough of that 'O woe is me, I'm so ugly and no one will ever love me' bull from Piper. You are _not_ a seven. If I'm a ten, you're at least an eight, if not a nine. No way in hell you're three points below me."

James snorted. "Please, you're freakishly handsome. It's why I started hating you as soon as you walked into the bar with Piper. I, on the other hand, am an oddly proportioned skeletally thin nightmare. I just happen to have decent hair and a nice ass, which I think elevates me to a seven on my good days. Six the rest of the time."

Other-James cupped his face with his hand, tracing his thumb first over James' cheekbones and then running it across his lips. "I think you have the most beautiful face I've ever seen on a guy. It's a little weird actually…with those cheekbones, and your eyes. They're gorgeous."

"They're just brown."

"They're like amber. And with those long, dark lashes. Seriously, people put a lot of effort into having the type of sculpted features and flawless skin you have. I like that little birthmark on your jaw. Face it James, you're hot, and you know it, so cut the false modesty."

Other-James' hand was still on his face, reverently stroking his jawline. He couldn't take his eyes off of the clear blue ones in front of him, which actually were strikingly beautiful. Maybe it was a grass is greener thing? At any rate, James felt more confident having a ten telling him he was hot.

They both leaned in for the kiss at almost the same time. Other-James' thumb brushed down against James' jaw, and he unthinkingly opened his mouth in response to the sensation; the other young man took advantage, swiping his tongue against James' with strong, sure strokes. James leaned into the kiss, grabbed onto Other-James' arm and marveled at the feel of his solid bicep through the fabric of his garish cornflower blue dress shirt. He'd never touched a man with that kind of muscle development. It felt _good_.

Other-James pulled back from the kiss, biting James' lower lip before letting go, and gazing at him through half lidded eyes.

God he was pretty. And he thought James was pretty too.

Piper was really, really dense. And possibly going to miss out on one of two very good things because of it.

"Look, James…I don't want a pity fuck just because it's Valentine's Day and my crush is out hooking up with someone else and I'm new to this liking men stuff. If you want me to leave, just say so, okay?"

James let out a small, breathy laugh. "You really think that in this situation, the pity would be on my end?"

"Hey, you're hot and you would theoretically know what you're doing."

"You kiss like you know what you're doing," James pointed out.

"Touché. So we're on the same page then?"

"If the same page ends with us naked and satisfied, then yeah."

Other-James smiled that perfect (yet a little creepy now that James knew about the capped teeth) smile, and allowed himself to be tugged into James' bedroom. They were locked in an embrace and kissing again before James could even kick the door shut behind him. His fedora landed somewhere near the bathroom door as Other-James flung it off, then ran his hands through James' hair.

His knees knocked into the mattress to his bed, and he fell back against it, clutching at his companion's shirt and accidentally yanking some of the buttons open as they fell. He made short work of the rest of them, then ran his long fingered hands over a deliciously tight tummy and soft, tanned skin. But damn, the man was beautiful. James didn't even know what kind of workout you had to do to get a body like that. He smiled appreciatively then sighed into another devouring kiss.

Other-James pushed his t-shirt up and felt along James' less defined, but certainly pleasing abdomen. He pressed James into the bed, strong fingers digging into his prominent hip bones, and then climbed on top of him, getting a leg between James' and rubbing against his crotch.

His shirt was getting really uncomfortable bunched under his armpits, but it was trapped by the stupid vest (which he was so never wearing again). "J-James," he gasped. "Let me up for a sec."

Other-James' eyes widened. "Sorry. Did I-what did I do wrong?"

James laughed, then trailed a hand down the other James' face. "Nothing. I just want to get this shirt off."

"Oh. Well I have absolutely no objections to that. I think you should lose the pants too."

James winked at him, then with some personal space returned ever so briefly to him, he quickly stripped off most of his clothing, leaving just his boxers for the moment. If this was the guy's first time with a man, he wasn't sure how soon they should jump to full nudity, or if it would be better to keep making out for a bit.

The other James, however, stripped right down to his birthday suit, and at first James could only stare in awe at the specimen of human loveliness stretched out next to him on his bed. The man was _perfect_; golden hued skin, legs to die for, his abs, his arms, and oh that honey happy trail leading to a thick, swollen cock dripping with precum and _very_ happy to see James, from the look of it.

He wasn't aware of licking his lips when he looked at the other man's penis, at least, not until the other James laughed and wiggled his hips. "Like what you see?"

"Go-uh, fuck. Just, just _fuck_. You really think _I'm_ in your league?"

"We could put it to the test. I mean, if your mouth's as functional as it is pretty…" His smile was absolutely wicked, and with those lust blown eyes, completely erotic to boot. James crawled down the man's body without further preamble and took his leaking cock into his mouth, swallowing as much as he could and moaning at the sensation.

He could feel those strong hands he'd been admiring earlier (attached to the sexy, and suddenly completely unthreatening wrists) tangling in his hair. He closed his eyes and gave the engorged length a powerful suck before sliding up, swirling his tongue around the head, and then bobbing up and down repeatedly. He set a brutal rhythm, moving with the other James as his hips started thrashing between the mattress and James' talented mouth. His own cock was aching to be touched, but his hands were busy caressing his new lover's thighs, the sensitive skin along his hips, and finally cupping his balls and gently squeezing in time with the ministrations of his tongue and his lips. He settled for grinding himself against the mattress, wantonly groaning as he managed to find just a bit of friction. It wasn't enough, but it felt good, and he knew the vibrations of his throat would only add to his lover's pleasure.

The other James spilled into his mouth, letting out an almost startled yelp as he came. Then he whimpered and pressed his hands to his face. "I'm sorry," he gasped. "I'm so sorry. That was…that was quick. Damn, you're good at that. I swear, I'm not always so quick-"

"Stop babbling," James said, voice raspy from his recent activity. He licked a stray string of James' cum off one of his long fingers, keeping his eyes fixed on the other man's face. James' eyes were so dark they almost looked like sapphires. He swallowed at the sight. "I'm not going anywhere. You can come as many times as you want to tonight."

"Dude. This is already _way_ better than sleeping with Mindy."

"I don't know who that is, so I'm just going to assume that's a compliment."

"It is." Other-James' eyes quickly raked over James' body and he felt his cheeks color. Taking the man's cock down his throat was one thing, but being looked at so intensely… "What now?"

"Whatever you want to do. Whatever you're comfortable with," James assured him. "I don't want to rush you. If that was enough for now…"

"Hey, that was a great orgasm and all, but I can feel it. We're just getting started. Besides…" He reached down and cupped James' hard-on, making him roll his head back and moan. "That wouldn't be fair."

"Okay good, because if you're not ready, that's fine, but if we don't have sex then I am going to cry."

He smiled wickedly. "Wouldn't want that. Er…I've obviously never done this before. Are you…you have a preference about topping or bottoming?"

James bucked against the other James' hand and nuzzled his face into his neck, sighing when he wrapped a lean, muscular arm around him. "I do either. Mm...that feels good…I really like being fucked though."

He felt the other young man's cock twitch against his leg at those words. He was starting to get hard again already. "That works for me."

James pulled him down into a fierce, sloppy kiss, and they rutted against each other, all thoughts of impressing the younger man with finesse or his "experience" giving way to the urgency of having a hard, sweaty young body undulating against his. He finally found the presence of mind to reach for his nightstand drawer and scrabble around until he found the lube and a condom. He threw the condom on the bed and uncapped the lube while James peeled his dampened boxers off.

The other James stared at his cock for a moment, taking in the sight. For a moment neither of them spoke or moved, the only sound in the small room being their heaving gasps for air. Hesitantly, the other James held his hand over James' cock, then slowly lowered it and firmly grasped him. He groaned and shuddered; that strong hand felt just as good as he'd imagined it would.

As the sexy blond stroked him, James lubed up his fingers and spread his legs, then impaled himself on them, thrusting up into the other James' strong grip, and back down onto his own fingers. It all felt so good, James' hand, the slight burn of penetration, James raining kisses on his chest, his collarbone, his temple…that last kiss was almost tender. The other James nibbled at his lips, then pulled back to look him in the eye, crystal blue boring into honeyed brown. "You are so beautiful like this."

James slowly withdrew his fingers, then pressed the condom and the lube into his lover's free hand. "You have to fuck me now, or I am not going to last."

Nodding, he ripped open the packet, put the condom on, slicked himself up, then froze, face coloring and head falling onto his chest. James sat up and ran his hands up and down his lover's arms. "Hon, what's wrong?"

"N-nothing. Just needed a sec."

"You sure you're okay? You really want to do this?"

He looked up at James again, and that spark seemed to pass between their heated gazes again. He didn't have a doubt in his mind that the other James wanted him.

"Tell me if I'm not making you feel as good as you're making me feel, okay beautiful?" he asked.

James nodded dazedly, then fell back against the mattress with his hips raised. "How do you want me?"

"That works just fine."

The other James slowly sank into him, cursing as he was surrounded by the tight but yielding flesh. "Fuck. Oh _fuck_, you are incredible. This is incredible. This is-why was I afraid of this? This is fucking perfect!"

"I know it is. Now will you stop babbling and fuck me?" James gasped. He could feel the vibration of the other James' laugh moving through their joined bodies.

"Be careful what you wish for Jamie."

He was about to tell him off for the damn nickname, but then the other James started fucking him in earnest and oh, _oh_ could those hips do amazing things. James tried to watch the man's beautiful face as he fucked him raw, but his body refused to cooperate with him. His head dropped back against the mattress, and he found his throat emitting all sorts of embarrassing noises each time James snapped his hips, thrusting into him with almost violent force. His lover lifted one of his legs higher and wrapped it around his waist, then changed the angle of his thrust, hitting James' prostrate dead on.

He screamed when he came, and he just knew the neighbors had heard that one, and that there would be an awkward moment in the hallway later, but it was hard to care about that.

James thrust into him a few more times before coming for the second time that night, with a soft cry of his own before collapsing against him. James ran his hands through his lover's sweaty blond hair and sighed in satisfaction.

This wasn't what he'd been imagining when he'd gotten ready earlier in the day, but it was better than anything he could have hoped for.

The other James pulled out and disposed of the condom while James wiped himself off with a corner of the sheet, then the gorgeous young creature spooned against him and let out a sigh of contentment, twining their fingers together and even curling his leg around James', letting his surprisingly flexible toes caress their way up and down his calf.

"That was…that was wonderful," he breathed.

"Mm," James agreed.

"I could see myself doing that on a regular basis, if you're interested."

"Why James, are you asking me out?" James asked.

He leaned up on his elbow and smiled at James, a mischievous look on his face. "You know, if we do date, one of us is going to have to go by something else. I can't date a guy with the same name as me."

"I don't go by Jamie," James informed him with a look of utter distaste.

"I've got a lot of names," he said with a shrug. He nuzzled against James' chest, then murmured so quietly that he almost didn't hear. "You can call me Gio."

"Gio?"

"Short for Giovanni."

"Okay…Gio." James ran a hand through his hair, and Gio let out a sound that was almost a purr.

* * *

><p>The next night, James made his way back to the bar and was pleased to see that Nat was working again. He sat at the bar and split a plate of friend pickles with her once there was a lull, and they caught each other up regarding their Valentine's Days.<p>

"Did you ask Brett out?" James asked.

"I almost didn't, but when I saw you leaving here with the blond wet dream I figured I had to. I mean, you might not have asked out who you were intending to, but you still took a shot and actually it looked like you traded up. So I knew I couldn't back out after that."

"And?" James pressed.

She grinned like an idiot, and that was all the answer he needed.

"Good for you sweetie."

"So how'd things go with you and Blondie?"

"His name's Gio, and he's Italian," James informed her. She let out a low whistle.

"Good for you."

"Why thank you."

He didn't inform his new friend that actually, he had a funny feeling about his new boyfriend. He just couldn't help but feel like there were some important things that Gio wasn't telling him. But that could wait. It was a little early for paranoia.

Whatever this feeling of misgiving was, it couldn't be _that_ important…could it?

END


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